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This project aims to explore the connection between physical attractiveness and body fat storage in both males and females.

This research addresses whether masculinity threat influences body shape preferences towards objectively attractive body types.

Background There are increasing data highlighting the effectiveness of vitamin D supplementation in the treatment of vitamin D deficiency. But individuals vary in their responsiveness to vitamin D supplementation. In this study, the association between several cardiometabolic risk factors and the magnitude of response to vitamin D supplementation (change in vitamin D level) was investigated using a novel artificial neural networks (ANNs) approach. Methods Six hundred eight participants aged between 12 to 19 years old were recruited to this prospective interventional study. Nine vitamin D capsules containing 50,000 IU vitamin D/weekly were given to all participants over the 9 week period. The change in serum 25(OH) D level was calculated as the difference between post-supplementation and basal levels. Suitable ANNs model were selected between different algorithms in the hidden and output layers and different numbers of neurons in the hidden layer. The major determinants for predicting the response to vitamin D supplementation were identified. Results The sigmoid in both the hidden and output layers with 4 hidden neurons had acceptable sensitivity, specificity and accuracy, assessed as the area under the ROC curve, was determined in our study. Baseline serum vitamin D (30.4%), waist to hip ratio (10.5%), BMI (10.5%), systolic blood pressure (8%), heart rate (6.4%), and waist circumference (6.1%) were the most important factors in predicting the response to serum vitamin D levels. Conclusion We provide the first attempt to relate anthropometric specific recommendations to attain serum vitamin D targets. With the exception of cardiometabolic risk factors, the relative importance of other factors and the mechanisms by which these factors may affect the response requires further analysis in future studies (Trial registration: IRCT201509047117N7; 2015-11-25; Retrospectively registered).

Background: Nowadays, obesity and overweight are projected to become main risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD). We aimed to determine the association of anthropometric measures with presence of significant (sig.) CAD as evaluated by coronary angiography, among an adult Iranian population. Methods: The present study included 441 patients (men=275) aged > 30 years with suspected CAD, who had undergone coronary angiography between January 2019 and November 2019. All demographic data and patients’ medical history as well as clinical examinations were recorded by a trained physician. Coronary angiography was performed using standard techniques to determine the presence of sig. coronary artery lesions. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess the odds ratio (OR) of each anthropometric measure for the presence of sig. CAD. Results: The mean age of participants was 51.2±8.7 years and sig. CAD was detected in 185 patients. Univariate analyses showed that body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and waist to hip ratio (WHR) were significantly associated with increased risk of CAD. On multivariable logistic regression model, BMI and WHR correlated independently with increased risk of CAD; while higher WC and wrist circumference (WrC) could not predict the CAD risk. The corresponding ORs (95% confidence interval) were 1.36 (1.04-1.74), 1.17 (0.95-1.63), 1.29 (1.12-1.41), and 1.24 (0.76-1.92) for BMI, WC, WHR, and WrC, respectively. Considering the receiver operating characteristic analysis, no superiority was observed for each of the measures for discriminating sig. CAD from non-sig. CAD status. Conclusion: BMI and WHR are independently associated with the presence of CAD among Iranian population. These results emphasize the value of anthropometric assessment among those with suspected CAD.

Obesity has emerged as the most potential cardiovascular risk factor and has raised concern among public and their health related issues not only in developed but also in developing countries. The Worldwide obesity occurrence has almost has gone three times since 1975. Research suggests there are about 775 million obese people in the World including adult, children, and adolescents. Nearly 50% of the children who are obese and overweight in Asia in are below 5 years. There is a steep incline of childhood obesity when compared to 1971 which is not only in developed countries but also in developing countries. A considerable amount of weight gain occurs during the transition phase from adolescence to young adulthood. It is also suggested that those adultswho were obese in childhood also remained obese in their adulthood with a higher metabolic risk than those who became obese in their adulthood. In India, the urban Indian female in the age group of 30-45 years have emerged as an 〝at risk population” for cardiovascular diseases. To understand how obesity can influence cardiovascular function, it becomes immense important to understand the changes which can take place in adipose tissue due to obesity. There are two proposed concepts explaining the inflammatory status of macrophage. The predominant cause of insulin resistance is obesity. Epidemiological and research studies have indicated that the pathogenesis of obesity-related metabolic dysfunction involves the development of a systemic, low-grade inflammatory state. It is becoming clear that targeting the pro-inflammatory pathwaymay provide a novel therapeutic approach to prevent insulin resistance, particularly in obesity inducedinsulin resistance. Some cost effective interventions that are feasible by all and can be implemented even in low-resource settings includes - population-wide and individual, which are recommended to be used in combination to reduce the greatest cardiovascular disease burden. The sixth target in the Global NCD action plan is to reduce the prevalence of hypertension by 25%. Reducing the incidence of hypertension by implementing population-wide policies to educe behavioral risk factors. Reducing cigarette smoking, body weight, blood pressure, blood cholesterol, and blood glucose all have a beneficial impact on major biological cardiovascular risk factors. A variety of lifestyle modifications have been shown, in clinical trials, to lower bloodpressure, includes weight loss, physical activity, moderation of alcohol intake, increased fresh fruit and vegetables and reduced saturated fat in the diet, reduction of dietary sodium intake, andincreased potassium intake. Also, trials of reduction of saturated fat and its partial replacement by unsaturated fats have improved dyslipidaemia and lowered risk of cardiovascular events. This initiative driven by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, State Governments, Indian Council of Medical Research and the World Health Organization are remarkable. The Government of India has adopted a national action plan for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) with specific targets to be achieved by 2025, including a 25% reduction inoverall mortality from cardiovascular diseases, a 25% relative reduction in the prevalence of raised blood pressure and a 30% reduction in salt/sodium intake. In a nutshell increased BMI values can predict the nature of obesity and its aftermaths in terms inflammation and other disease associated with obesity. It’s high time; we must realize it and keep an eye on health status in order to live long and healthy life.

The associations of body mass index (BMI) and other anthropometric measurements with lung cancer were examined in 348,108 participants in the European Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) between 1992 and 2010. The study population included 2,400 case patients with incident lung cancer, and the average length of follow-up was 11 years. Hazard ratios were calculated using Cox proportional hazard models in which we modeled smoking variables with cubic splines. Overall, there was a significant inverse association between BMI (weight (kg)/height (m)(2)) and the risk of lung cancer after adjustment for smoking and other confounders (for BMI of 30.0-34.9 versus 18.5-25.0, hazard ratio = 0.72, 95% confidence interval: 0.62, 0.84). The strength of the association declined with increasing follow-up time. Conversely, after adjustment for BMI, waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio were significantly positively associated with lung cancer risk (for the highest category of waist circumference vs. the lowest, hazard ratio = 1.25, 95% confidence interval: 1.05, 1.50). Given the decline of the inverse association between BMI and lung cancer over time, the association is likely at least partly due to weight loss resulting from preclinical lung cancer that was present at baseline. Residual confounding by smoking could also have influenced our findings.

To systematically and quantitatively review the relation of abdominal obesity, as measured by waist circumference (WC) and waist to hip ratio (WHR), to total gastroesophageal cancer, gastric cancer (GC), and esophageal cancer. PubMed and Web of Science databases were searched for studies assessing the association between abdominal obesity and gastroesophageal cancer (GC and/or esophageal cancer) up to August 2016. A random-effect model was used to calculate the summary relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Seven prospective cohort studies – one publication included two separate cohorts – from six publications were included in the final analysis. A total of 2130 gastroesophageal cancer cases diagnosed amongst 913182 participants. Higher WC and WHR were significantly associated with increased risk of total gastroesophageal cancer (WC: RR 1.68, 95% CI: 1.38, 2.04; WHR: RR 1.49, 95% CI: 1.19, 1.88), GC (WC: RR 1.48, 95% CI: 1.24, 1.78; WHR: 1.33, 95% CI: 1.04, 1.70), and esophageal cancer (WC: RR 2.06, 95% CI: 1.30, 3.24; WHR: RR 1.99, 95% CI: 1.05, 3.75).Findings from our subgroup analyses showed non-significant positive associations between gastric non-cardia adenocarcinoma (GNCA) and both measures of abdominal adiposity, while gastric cardia adenocarcinoma (GCA) was positively associated with WC but not with WHR. On analysis restricted to studies that adjusted for body mass index (BMI), WC was positively associated with GC and esophageal cancer, whereas WHR was positively associated with risk of GC only. Although limited, the findings from our meta-analysis suggest the potential role of abdominal obesity in the etiology of gastric and esophageal cancers.

The study determined the predictive equation of prostate cancer from anthropometric parameters. Subjects were recently diagnosed of prostate cancer receiving treatment at the Surgical Outpatient Department of Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex (OAUTHC), Ile-Ife, Nigeria with their age and sex matched apparently with healthy individuals from the same vicinity participated from the study. The weight, height, waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC) and wrist circumference were measured for the 2 groups. Body mass index (BMI), waist to hip ratio (WHR) and frame size (FRS) were calculated. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the result. The result revealed that there was a significant increase in WC (t = 2.95, p

Background Eastern Africa is a vast area straddling the Equator at roughly between latitude 18° North and 25° South of the Equator. This region enjoys overhead or near overhead sunshine throughout the year receiving an estimated 200–275 W/M2 of UVB annually. It is a region undergoing rapid socio-economic changes and thus impacting change in work habits and environment from the outdoors to the indoors. There however exists a dearth of vitamin D3 data on people in this region despite the recognition of vitamin D3 deficiency being a global epidemic. The purpose of this study was to examine the status of vitamin D3 and central obesity in this clinical population and their relationship if any. Methods Serum 25(OH)D, Waist circumference (WC) and Waist to Hip ratio (WHR) data on 182 outpatients attending a Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes was retrospectively analyzed by gender, age category and ethnicity. Results Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency in this clinical population in Eastern Africa, females had lower serum concentration, with the younger population having lower serum concentrations than the elderly. There was also a significant difference in serum levels when data was analyzed by ethnicity. Similarly central obesity was also highly prevalent in this population. The odds of being Vitamin D deficient was 3.3 times (p = 0.022) higher among individuals with elevated waist circumference than those with normal waist circumferences. Among the males, the odds of being Vitamin D deficient and having an elevated waist circumference was 6.8 times (p = 0.011) higher than for males with normal waist circumferences. This was however not observed among the females. Conclusion Living on or close to the equator and having overhead or near overhead sunshine throughout the year in and of itself is not a guarantee of adequate serum 25(OH)D concentrations. It may therefore be prudent for clinicians in this region to risk stratify their patients based on work location, age category and ethnicity.

Background India’s national rural prevalence of type 2 diabetes has quadrupled in the past 25 years. Despite the growing rural burden, few studies have examined putative risk factors and their relationship with glucose intolerance and diabetes in rural areas. We undertook a cross-sectional study to determine the prevalence of impaired fasting glucose (IFG), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), and type 2 diabetes in a rural area of south India. In addition, we determined which factors were associated with type 2 diabetes. Methods We sampled 2 % of the adult population from 17 villages using a randomized household-level sampling technique. Each participant undertook a questionnaire that included basic descriptive information and an assessment of socioeconomic status, physical activity, and dietary intake. Height, weight, waist and hip circumference, and blood pressure measurements were taken. An oral glucose tolerance test was used to determine diabetes status. We used stepwise logistic model building techniques to determine associations between several putative factors and type 2 diabetes. Results 753 participants were included in the study. The age- and sex-standardized prevalence of IFG was 3.9 %, IGT was 5.6 %, and type 2 diabetes was 10.8 %. Factors associated with type 2 diabetes after adjusting for confounders included physical activity [OR 0.81], rurality [OR 0.76], polyunsaturated fat intake [OR 0.94], body mass index [OR 1.85], waist to hip ratio [OR 1.62], and tobacco consumption [OR 2.82]. Conclusion Our study contributes to the growing body of research suggesting that diabetes is a significant concern in rural south India. Associated risk factors should be considered as potential targets for reducing health burdens in India.

Objective Waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) is strongly associated with prevalent atherosclerosis. We analyzed the associations of baseline serum levels of testosterone (T), estradiol (E2), sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) with WHR in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) cohort. Subjects Baseline data was available for 3144 men and 2038 postmenopausal women, who were non-users of hormone therapy, who were 45–84 years of age, and of White, Chinese, Black or Hispanic racial/ethnic groups. Of these, 2708 men and 1678 women also had longitudinal measurements of WHR measured at the second and/or the third study visits (median follow-up 578 days, and 1135 days, respectively). Results In cross-sectional analyses adjusted for age, race, and cardiovascular disease risk factors, T was negatively associated with baseline WHR in men, while in both sexes, E2 was positively associated and SHBG was negatively associated with WHR (all p

ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to investigate whether differences in admixture in African-American (AFA) and Hispanic-American (HA) adult women are associated with adiposity and adipose distribution.DesignThe proportion of European, sub-Saharan African and Amerindian admixture was estimated for AFA and HA women in the Women's Heath Initiative using 92 ancestry informative markers. Analyses assessed the relationship between admixture and adiposity indices.SubjectsThe subjects included 11 712 AFA and 5088 HA self-identified post-menopausal women.ResultsThere was a significant positive association between body mass index (BMI) and African admixture when BMI was considered as a continuous variable, and age, education, physical activity, parity, family income and smoking were included covariates (P

Background: Obesity caused diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Yoga considered three aspects, physic, emotion and mental that helped in obesity therapy.Objective: This research aimed to explain the influence of yoga excercise on body weight, percent of body fat, waist circumference and waist to hip ratio (WHR) in overweight women.Method: This research applied quasi experiment design by using pre-post test with control group design. The subjects of research were 31 women aged 19-25 years old and divided into 2 groups, treatment group and control group. Treatment group was prepared to do yoga in 60 minutes for 10 times during 20 days and given nutrition education, whereas control group was given nutrition education only. Data body weight and percentage of body fat were measured by bioimpedance analysis; waist circumference and WHR were measured by tape measures; food intake were assessed by food recall and food frequency questionnaire. Data were analyzed using paired t-test and independent t-test.Results: There was a significant difference of body weight before and after intervention in both groups. The body weight on treatment group decreased by 0.81 ± 1.29 kg (p0.05). Conclusion: Obesity women with 10 times yoga had no significant influences on body weight, percentage of body fat, waist circumference and WHR.

OBJETIVO: Avaliar a concordância entre o índice de massa corporal segundo padrão internacional e indicadores de adiposidade no diagnóstico de sobrepeso e obesidade em escolares. MÉTODOS: Avaliação de peso e estatura de 528 escolares, entre 6 e 10 anos, de ambos os sexos, seguida da classificação das crianças em eutróficas, com baixo peso, sobrepeso ou obesidade segundo índice de massa corporal por idade. A adiposidade foi estimada a partir da somatória das medidas das dobras cutâneas tricipital e subescapular, tricipital e da panturrilha medial e pelas circunferências da cintura e quadril. RESULTADOS: a prevalência de sobrepeso e obesidade foi de 21,2% nas meninas e 18,8% nos meninos. A porcentagem de gordura corporal média nas crianças normais (17,7%) foi significativamente diferente da observada nas crianças com sobrepeso (27,0%) e obesidade (29,4%) (p < 0,02). As circunferências médias da cintura e quadril dos meninos e meninas eutróficos (56,9 cm e 67,7 cm) diferiu significativamente daqueles com sobrepeso (65,9 cm e 77 cm) (p < 0,01). Não houve diferença na razão cintura-quadril entre os grupos. A porcentagem de gordura corporal, a circunferência da cintura e a circunferência do quadril correlacionaram-se significativamente com o índice de massa corporal (p < 0,01). CONCLUSÃO: O uso do índice de massa corporal por idade, baseado em padrão internacional, mostrou-se adequado para o diagnóstico de sobrepeso e obesidade na faixa etária estudada, apresentando boa concordância com a adiposidade. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the agreement between the body mass index international standard and body fat for the diagnosis of overweight and obesity in schoolchildren. METHODS: 528 schoolchildren between 6 and 10 years of age, of both sexes, had their weight and height measured. They were then classified as normal, underweight, overweight or obese using the body fat index for age. Body fat was estimated based on the sum of triceps and subscapular, triceps and calf skinfold measurements and waist and hip circumference. RESULTS: Overweight and obesity were found in 21.2% of the girls and 18.8% of the boys. The average percentage of body fat in the normal children (17.7%) was statistically different from that of overweight (27%) and obese (29.4%) children (p < 0.02). The average waist and hip circumference also differed significantly between normal boys and girls (56.9 cm and 67.7 cm) and overweight children (65.9 cm and 77 cm) (p < 0.01). There was no significant difference between groups in terms of average waist to hip ratio. The percentage of body fat , waist and hip circumference were significantly correlated with body mass index (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Body mass index for age was an adequate indicator of overweight and obesity in group studied, with a good agreement with body fat.

Background Alterations in postprandial metabolism have been described in familial combined hyperlipidemia (FCH); however, their underlying mechanisms are not well characterized. We aimed to identify factors related to the magnitude of postprandial lipemia and apolipoprotein (apo) A-V levels in subjects with FCH. Methods FCH cases (n = 99) were studied using a standardized meal test. Abdominal obesity was assessed using the waist to hip ratio (WHR). A linear regression model was performed to investigate the variables associated with the triglycerides incremental area under the curve (iAUC). Independent associations between metabolic variables and apo A-V iAUC were also investigated in a randomly selected subgroup (n = 44). The study sample was classified according to the presence of fasting hypertriglyceridemia (≥150 mg/dL) and abdominal obesity (WHR ≥0.92 in men and ≥0.85 in women) to explore differences in parameters. Results The fasting apo B-48 levels (r = 0.404), and the WHR (r = 0.359) were independent factors contributing to the triglycerides iAUC (r2 = 0.29, P

Introduction: India is on the verge of being the diabetic capital of the world, owing to the increasing prevalence of diabetes in India. The aim of this study was to find the association between anthropometry and dyslipidaemia, with a particular reference to the triacylglycerol levels, besides suggesting a better anthropometric variable. Method: A group of eighty diabetic patients took part in the study. The Waist Circumference (WC), the waist to hip ratio, the serum triacylglycerol (TAG) levels and the glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels were measured and studied. Results: We found out that there was a significant association between the WC and the TAG levels (p-value = 0.030), between high TAG levels and high HbA1c values (p-value = 0.038) with greater accuracy, in favour of the waist circumference. Conclusion: This depicted the fact that a simple measuring tape which is used in measuring the WC, could prove to be a useful and a cost-effective diagnostic approach for monitoring the metabolic complications of type 2 DM.

Several meta-analyses of observational studies have been performed to examine the association between general obesity, as measured by body mass index (BMI), and lung cancer. These meta-analyses suggest an inverse relation between high BMI and this cancer. In contrast to general obesity, abdominal obesity appears to play a role in the development of lung cancer. However, the association between abdominal obesity (as measured by waist circumference (WC) (BMI adjusted) and waist to hip ratio (WHR)) and lung cancer is not fully understood due to sparse available evidence regarding this association. PubMed and Web of Science databases were searched for studies assessing the association between abdominal obesity and lung cancer up to October 2016. The summary relative risks (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated with a random-effects model. Six prospective cohort studies with 5827 lung cancer cases among 831,535 participants were included in our meta-analysis. Each 10 cm increase in WC and 0.1 unit increase in WHR were associated with 10% (RR 1.10; 95% CI 1.04, 1.17; I2 = 27.7%, p-heterogeneity = 0.198) and 5% (RR 1.05; 95% CI 1.00, 1.11; I2 = 25.2%, p-heterogeneity = 0.211) greater risks of lung cancer, respectively. According to smoking status, greater WHR was only positively associated with lung cancer among former smokers (RR 1.11; 95% CI 1.00, 1.23). In contrast, greater WC was associated with increased lung cancer risk among never smokers (RR 1.11; 95% CI 1.00, 1.23), former smokers (RR 1.12; 95% CI 1.03, 1.22) and current smokers (RR 1.16; 95% CI 1.08, 1.25). The summary RRs for highest versus lowest categories of WC and WHR were 1.32 (95% CI 1.13, 1.54; I2 = 18.2%, p-heterogeneity = 0.281) and 1.10 (95% CI 1.00, 1.23; I2 = 24.2%, p-heterogeneity = 0.211), respectively. In summary, abdominal obesity may play an important role in the development of lung cancer.

Background: Overweight and obesity are two important risk factors for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Controling the weight via using dietary fiber may help to manage patients with NAFLD by diet and physical activity. Psyllium as a fiber can reduce obesity and its consequences. Methods:This was a placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized clinical trial study. 80 overweight or obese patients with NAFLD (age: 18-77 years) diagnosis via elastography were enrolled. Participants assigned to intervention and placebo groups using randomized block design; which were supplemented with 10 g psyllium or 10 g ground wheat, respectively. Both groups followed weight-loss diet and physical activity (PA) recommendations for 10 weeks. Serum liver enzymes (using enzymatic photometric method), dietary intake (via 3-day food record) physical activity (using physical activity questionnaire) and anthropometric measurements were assessed at baseline and the end of the study. Findings: 75 participants (mean age: 44.9 years) met the inclusion criteria, 13 men and 25 women in intervention group and 22 men and 15 women in placebo group. At the beginning, the mean body mass index (BMI) was 29.4 and 31.1 kg/m2 and the mean calorie intake was 2044.8 and 2449.7 kcal in intervention and placebo groups, respectively. Controling the confounding variables, calorie intake (P = 0.020), carbohydrate intake (P = 0.010), serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (P = 0.006), waist circumference (P = 0.006), body mass index (P = 0.006) and weight (P = 0.030) were reduced in intervention group as compared with placebo group. Waist to hip ratio reduced at a boarderline significancy (P = 0.050); and serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) reduced unsignificantly (P = 0.980). Conclusion: Weight-loss diet program supplemented with psyllium, in parallel with increasing the physical activity, can be useful in reducing NAFLD outcomes.

BACKGROUND Central obesity is an important risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Preventive interventions from childhood are necessary due to the increasing prevalence of childhood obesity. Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist to hip ratio (WHR) and waist to height ratio (WSR) are anthropometric indices for measurement of obesity. This study aimed to assess the association between these anthropometric indices and dyslipidemia in obese children and adolescents. METHODS This retrospective study was done on the records of 2064 obese children and adolescents aged 6-18 years at the obesity clinic, in Isfahan Cardiovascular Research center. Age, gender, weight, height, WC, hip circumference (HC), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C), HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C), Fasting blood sugar (FBS), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) were taken from patients’ record. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve and Pearson correlation were used to analyze the data. RESULTS 2064 girls and boys aged 6-18 years were divided into 3 age groups of 6-9.9 years, 10-13.9 years and 14-18 years. Prevalence of high LDL-C, TC, TG, FBS, SBP, DBP and low HDL-C was higher among the boys compared to the girls. There was a significant association between TC, LDL-C, TG and FBS with BMI, WC, WHR and WSR. However, no significant correlation was seen between HDL-C and the four anthropometric indices. CONCLUSION Our study showed a significant correlation between BMI, WC and WSR with high levels of TC, TG and LDL-C in children and adolescents. Correlation between WHR and dyslipidemia in this study was significant but its predictive value was weaker than other three indices.